Westlight

Summary

Westlight sits on the 22nd floor of the William Vale hotel in North Williamsburg. When you enter the lobby of the hotel, there is a line to the right that directs you to board the elevator. Upon arrival, the host will seat you on 1 of 2 floors. The 1st floor might be for reservations and has a waiter, whereas the 2nd floor might be for walk-ins. The 2nd floor has a fake grassy area with some patio tables/chairs, and you don’t get waiter service. You order your drinks and food at the bartender, and they will bring out the food to your table when it’s ready. Keep in mind that we’re still under COVID restrictions, so no indoor dining. The host brought us outside on the 1st floor and seat us in a 2-seater that overlooks west towards the Manhattan skylines. It’s simply breathtaking especially on this cooler day of the summer in the core afternoon.

The left is Ghost Shadow which is mezcal, jasmine, Rockey’s punch, and lemon. It was definitely smokey with a lot of citrus after flavors.

The right is North Fork Royale which is vodka, cranberry, grand marnier, lemon, and eylandt sparkling rosé. It was much sweeter than the Ghost Shadow and bubbly.

The guacamole had a cilantro & lime crema and was served with crispy tortillas. I like guacamole a lot, and this one was pretty good. It’s creamier than others and paired well with the thicker tortilla chips.

The tempura bass buns came with an aioli, spicy peanut, and herbs. The tempura bass was actually meaty and delicious. The sauce in the bun was light but had enough of the Vietnamese influences such that they came through. Even though you see the red pepper, it wasn’t spicy at all. For the record, my partner thought this was an empanada. This is not, even though the fish is fried. The bun is used as a wrapper for Chinese wraps like peking duck and bbq pork.

The roasted organic chicken is chicken with spiced labneh and charred summer beans. It is no longer on the menu despite it being just a week since we last went. The labneh reminded me much of hummus, and it sat at the bottom of the chicken. The chicken itself, thankfully, had a nice crispy skin to it and was actually pretty tender and juicy. The lemon added a nice zesty kick. The green and yellow veggies reminded me of string beans. The dish was surprisingly filling for the price point.

The crispy fries came with chipotle aioli. This reminded me much of shoestring fries. The aioli sauce was very light, and given the entrees we got, it didn’t really complement what we got since everything else was more rich in seasoning.

The dray aged beef burger came with smoked cheddar and a secret schmear. I think the secret schmear is some type of mushroom blend which the ingredients weren’t written on the menu. Thankfully, the flavor profile is non-existent as I loathe mushrooms to begin with. The burger though was cooked nicely at a medium. The burger is slightly on the expensive side for what it is, but it does come with a pickle on the side if you think that warrants the price. The pickle unfortunately was maybe a half or quarter sour pickle despite it being a decent size. Overall, I thought the burger tasted decent, but I wished I had gotten a different large bite.

The service was fairly attentive. Make sure on cooler days to bring a jacket in case if it gets breezy.

Final Verdict

The food was surprisingly pretty good. That coupled with the view makes it a spectacular place for a date or with friends. Don’t be afraid to order something other than the burger!

Yelp Jabs

The only reason I gave them 1 less star is their ordering drinks/food system is so inefficient. You have to go to bar to order and wait on lines

We were in the lower level and had a waiter who brought us everything. In my opinion, it’s definitely worth a reservation.

Very unimpressed. Made a reservation and added a note that it was our anniversary and if we could get a nice table, it would be so appreciated. We were put in the back next to the stairs/kitchen with maybe the worst view. There were 2 person tables open, so that was a bummer.

Don’t try to come here when everyone else is here, so you can get a better seat. Too many people want that primetime view. Good luck if you want to compete with the herd, and I don’t think reservations are any guarantee for that. For what it’s worth, we came right when it opened at 1:00 PM on a Sunday and got a fantastic view.